Crimea to have air link with 30 Russian cities from June 1

GURZUF SETTLEMENT (Republic of Crimea), May 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Crimea will have air link with 30 Russian cities from June 1 and the number of weekly flights will rise to 330, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Monday.

Tariffs for air tickets to Crimea have already been reduced while the Russian flagship airline Aeroflot has cut them virtually to the verge of profitability, Sokolov said at a government meeting in Crimea chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Specifically, an Aeroflot one-way ticket between Moscow and Simferopol costs 4,000 rubles ($117) while the price of a two-way ticket is 7,500 rubles ($219), the transport minister said.

“From June 1, Simferopol’s air communication will be organized with Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk - in general, with 30 cities in regular aviation directions,” Sokolov said.

Last year, flights to Crimea were made only from seven Russian cities, including chartered flights, the transport minister said.

“The total number of flights will be increased virtually to 330, which also exceeds almost threefold last year’s figure,” he said.

The Russian premier asked about how affordable air tickets to Crimea were at the price of 7,500 rubles.

Sokolov replied that 50% of the air tickets for the summer season had already been sold.